Basketball Recap: Riverdale Baptist Comes Up Short in High-Profile Contest with Highland

Riverdale Baptist is ranked highly in their home state and on Thursday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Highland. The Crusaders were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 57-56 to the Hawks. The Crusaders haven't had much luck with the Hawks recently, as the team has come up short the last four times they've met.

Derrick 'DJ' Robinson

Points

12/18/25 @ Highland	21
12/16/25 @ Evergreen Christian	16
12/13/25 @ Salesianum	11
12/11/25 @ Virginia Academy	10
12/09/25 vs Springdale Prep	15
+ 4 more games

Riverdale Baptist's defeat came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Derrick 'DJ' Robinson, who shot 50% from the field on his way to 21 points in addition to five boards and three steals. Robinson continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Dez Ainsworth, who went 6-for-12 to rack up 15 points and seven rebounds.

Riverdale Baptist's loss dropped their record down to 5-4. As for Highland, the victory keeps them at an undefeated 6-0.

Riverdale Baptist will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Rosedale Christian Academy at 2:00 p.m. on January 3, 2026. Highland will take on Shining Stars Sports Academy in a holiday battle at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Hawks will be up against the Panthers' rather soft defense (which has allowed 54.64 points per matchup), so fans could be in store for a big offensive performance.